NHL roundup: Hurricanes F Westgarth gets two-game ban

The Sports Xchange

The SportsXchangeNovember 27, 2013

Carolina Hurricanes forward Kevin Westgarth was suspended two games by the NHL for boarding Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki on Sunday, the league announced Tuesday. The incident occurred at 7:55 of the first period. Westgarth received a two-minute minor penalty for the hit. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Westgarth will forfeit $7,435.90. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund. Westgarth had a hearing Tuesday morning with Brendan Shanaham of the NHL Player Safety Department. Borowiecki was helped off the ice after the first-period injury and did not return to the game. He was not seriously injured.

--The National Hockey League announced a landmark 12-year deal with Rogers Communications for broadcast and multimedia rights, the longest in league history and reportedly worth $5.2 billion Canadian. Rogers will have all of the national NHL rights in Canada on all platforms and in all languages from the 2014-15 season through 2025-26, with TSN no longer carrying national NHL rights following the conclusion of the current season. According to the Globe & Mail, Rogers will make annual payments of $300 million Canadian to the NHL, which increase incrementally until reaching $500 million Canadian in the final year of the deal.

--The Chicago Blackhawks reassigned forward Jeremy Morin to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League, the team announced Tuesday. Morin, 22, has registered three assists in nine games this season with the Blackhawks. Prior to his recall on Nov. 20, the Auburn, N.Y., native had posted 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 10 games with Rockford.